


The Beekeeper and the Bear

by DiamondWings



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bear Shifter!Woojin, Because bears have always been hunted, Beekeeper!Chan, Hurt/Comfort, I can't believe there is no beekeeper chan and bear woojin fic yet, I've been trying to come up with something for an hour and am drawing a blank, M/M, There isn't actually that much violence in this fic, Woojin is just hurt a lot, and facts about honey, because I had this idea while harvesting honey, but also whipped, don't judge the fic by its title, mention of adult sleepovers at the end, pre-modern setting, proceed with care my innocent children, they're both big dumb sometimes, unnecessary amounts of beekeeping lingo, what has stayO3 been doing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 12:57:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20046409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondWings/pseuds/DiamondWings
Summary: Chan is a beekeeper, living alone in the mountains with his bees, minding his own business far away from other people. Woojin is a bear-shifter and always on the run from hunters. One day, on the brink of death, he stumbles into Chan's apiary in search of the one thing that might still save him in his current state: honey. Instead, he finds and angel.





	The Beekeeper and the Bear

Woojin winced as his paw caught on yet another root that stuck out of the uneven forest ground, tripping him bad enough this time that he overbalanced and fell. He fell hard, too, lacking the strength to catch his fall even though it seemed to happen in slow motion.

He grunted in pain after the impact, allowing himself only a moment to lie and rest before he forced himself to get up again. The hunters were still on his tail, even though he couldn’t quite hear them in the distance anymore; they surely hadn’t given up on their hunt, though, so he really couldn’t afford to rest.

He desperately wanted to, though; needed to, since he was exhausted beyond reason. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal in weeks, and nothing at all in days. He’d barely managed to find something to drink while constantly on the run! That, and the many, many wounds he’d sustained while fighting the hunters off and outrunning them afterwards continued to ache and throb, him constantly being forced to move not allowing them to heal. He was sure some of them, especially the deeper ones, were infected by now, yet he couldn’t even stop long enough to inspect them, never mind tend to them.

He stumbled further through the forest, which was starting to clear, the trees standing further apart. This was not good; fewer trees meant he was easily spotted and would have a harder time hiding. He couldn’t go back, though, all that was left to him was fleeing into the open field. 

Not thrilled, he still continued on as quickly as he could; maybe he could find somewhere to hide in the open space, somewhere where he had a chance that the hunters wouldn’t find him.

Distracted by his thoughts, he stumbled over another root, falling again. He’d been going faster, and the forest was sloping, causing him to not just fall but also roll and slide a good portion of the way before a tree stopped his momentum. He swore he saw stars from the impact, having to blink several times to clear his vision. His legs shook more than ever before as he forced himself back onto his feet and to continue his journey, his vision going blurry around the edges, too, but he forced himself to keep going.

His gut clenched with dread when suddenly, he could make out the end of the forest, the meadow behind the treeline starting to come into view.

It was a beautiful valley, he would have found in any other situation. It was wide but sheltered, with vast areas of green, dotted with countless flowers that painted the landscape in a myriad of colours. And yet, he couldn’t appreciate such beauty, since it was his life on the line, and the valley didn’t help preserve it. There was only one possible spot for shelter in the valley, and that was a small cluster of trees on a small rise of land; it couldn’t even be called a hill.

It was obvious, too obvious, and yet it was his only option. And so, he stumbled out from between the trees and headed straight for the trees in the distance. When he reached the small elevation, he was pantingl, his vision blurring frequently, and yet he didn’t stop walking, dragging his paws up the soft incline. He hand’t gone far when he felt like the incline was growing steeper and steeper, and had the grass always been this slippery? 

He fought his way up the elevation, towards the trees, his breathing coming heavier and heavier, and after slipping on the grass and falling yet again, the badly closed wound in his side opened again. It hurt, but if it was only that he would have been able to stand it. It stank, too, though, and he could feel the pus and blood caking the fur of his flank, the infection making him feverish and draining his strength. He wanted to clean the wound, but that required time he didn’t have; not now, not soon, possibly not ever, at this rate…

When he reached the first trees on top of the elevation, he was out of breath, panting harshly, barely able to see what was in front of him. He was parched, starving, near insane with exhaustion. And amidst all of that, a smell reached his nose, tauntingly sweet, rich and tempting: honey…!

If only it was true and he could find some honey to eat…! Just a little; it would give him strength to continue a little further, maybe enough to shake the hunters off, enough to perhaps find a cadaver to eat and fill his painfully empty stomach with, to regain enough strength to hunt for a proper meal… If only he could find that honey!

He sniffed the air again, but found no trace of the honey. Had he hallucinated it? Not unlikely, but still, it had felt -smelt- so real! He continued further, slipping between the trees. After a few steps -there it was again: the honey!- there was definitely honey somewhere up here, he just had to find it! The bees would sting him, but he hoped it wouldn’t be too many and he’d be able to eat enough before he was stung often enough for it to cause him serious trouble. 

With every step he took, the smell of honey grew more intense, and his elation grew proportionally.

And then, it felt like he had been punched in the gut; or more like, taken a battle ram to the gut. He found himself almost at the edge of the trees again, and instead of honey… there was a house! Not just a small hut, a weathered cabin or something of the likes, but a whole stone house, two stories, with flowers on the window-sills, balcony around the top floor and a comfortable deck in front of the front door.

Woojin wanted to weep; he’d been running from humans this whole time, and now he’d run straight into the arms of one. Most irritating was the fact that the smell of honey persisted; it meant there was honey in that house, and he  _ needed _ to have it. He actually, truthfully did. 

He was way past the point of reason at this point; hunger, pain, exhaustion, it was all too much. At least against one of those things he could do something, and so he decided to walk into that house and get himself some honey, consequences be damned!

The smell got more and more intense, and it seemed to come from the back of the house, so he rounded it. He found a back-door that was slightly ajar and from where the smell seemed to come the most intensely, and without thinking, he rushed towards it as best as he could. He rose to his hind-legs, using his front paws to open the door, and took a step inside.

Compared to the outside, the inside of the house was dark, and he had to blink a few times to get his vision to adjust. He growled quietly when it took too long, and then startled when a scream pierced the air. He jumped backwards, but that was a mistake. The motion caused him to pull on several of his wounds, and he doubled over in pain, falling back to all four, panting harshly. 

When the pain subsided enough for his brain to resume functioning for a moment, he had the time to ask himself where that scream had come from, and hastily surveyed the room he had stepped into.

It was a kitchen of some sort, he found; or maybe not a kitchen, but an… an apiary? There was honey everywhere, barrels of honey, honeycombs in all states - empty, full, new and old - supers in various states of harvest, and in the middle of it all…

Woojin couldn’t help but freeze and stare at the man standing in the middle of it all, clutching a half uncapped honeycomb in one hand, a honey knife sliding slowly out of the other, as he just stood there staring at Woojin with terror in his eyes. To Woojin, it was as if time stood still as he stared at the man, beautiful like an angel, and he even forgot all about the honey. The world seemed to spin all around him and the man with the honeycomb, only that beautiful blonde angel standing still as everything around him tilted off its axis. Too late Woojin realized that it wasn’t the world spinning and tilting, but his consciousness leaving him and him falling. 

He didn’t even feel his body hitting the floor, already out of it before he could even reach it. His last thought was that the angel in the room must be an angel of death, finally having come to get him and release him from this mortal plane. At least he didn’t have to run anymore.

*#*#*#*

Chan stared at the door in disbelief and horror. A bear -a full sized bear!- had just opened the door to his apiary, just to stare at him, scare the living daylights out of him and-... and  _ die? _ No, no, that was not right, bears didn’t even exist in this part of the country… right? But why was there a  _ fucking bear _ lying in his doorway if there were no bears in this area, and why was he-... shrinking? 

He shook his head to clear it, blinking furiously, but his eyes were not deceiving him, the bear was shrinking! He pinched himself, hissing when pain flared up under his skin in confirmation that he was, in fact, not dreaming. There was a bear in his house and it was shrinking and it was… its fur was vanishing and it’s form was changing and-

The honeycomb Chan had been holding slipped out of his hand, landing in the tub he had been uncapping the combs over with a wet squelch. Chan didn’t hear it, though, nor did he care. The bear… was no longer a bear. A human lay in its stead now, face-down and unconscious, and very much buck-naked. 

Chan shook his head again, reaching blindly for the wet cloth he kept around to clean his hands of honey. A naked man in his apiary; that was just unsanitary, he couldn’t have that! Not even if the man was built like a young god and- holy  _ shit _ , were those wounds? Chan gasped softly, finishing wiping his hands on the cloth before rushing over to the man’s side. 

Holy shit, indeed, those were indeed wounds, and they looked  _ nasty _ , Chan decided once he kneeled next to the man… bear… man-bear… whatever. They looked nasty, smelled nasty, probably felt nasty, most of all. And all of that in  _ his _ apiary! 

Chan shook his head decidedly, taking off his apron and draping it carelessly over the next best barrel. He couldn’t have a wounded bear-man in his apiary, no. Not allowed. He had to do something about that.

And so, he reached out, rolled the man-bear onto his back, and as gently as possible, wrestled him into his arms and off the ground.

*#*#*#*

Woojin was sure he must have died. He felt pretty dead, over-all, and when he actually didn’t feel that dead and was able to see something through barely lifted lashes, all he could make out were angelic honey-blonde curls, eyes as warm as a summer day, a smile that rivaled sunshine… Yes, he was pretty much sure he was dead and had gone to heaven, where an angel was constantly around him. 

Truth be told, though, he had always believed that if he died and went to heaven, he would stop hurting all over, so… if that was not part of the deal and in fact a massive scam, he would really like to have a word with the boss from up here about spreading misinformation, because he still felt like he’d been through hell.

Something had changed, after all, though: he didn’t feel parched and hungry anymore. 

“Come on, just a little bit more, you were doing so well…!” He heard a gentle voice coax, and then felt a cold object nudge his lips. Instinctively, he clenched his lips shut, and heard a soft sigh in response.

“You’re waking up again, aren’t you… Maybe this time you'll feel like drinking a bit more to get better?” 

Woojin fought to do what the beautiful voice asked of him, wanting to keep hearing it, but it stopped. A frustrated whine bubbled up inside him, and he felt it move his throat, spilling out of his mouth.

“Oh, it really looks like you’re waking up this time… You’re waking up, aren’t you? PLease tell me you are…!”

Woojin tried, he tried really hard, he swore, but he could do nothing about it as darkness took him under again.

The next time Woojin woke up, he was alone. The spot where he’d usually see the blonde angel when he woke up was empty. Involuntarily, a low whine slipped past his lips before he could do anything about it. He cut the noise off quickly, but it was already out there, and all he could do was wait with bated breath. Nothing happened, though, and he relaxed again. 

Only then did he take the time to take in his surroundings. The first thing he found was that he was laying in a remarkably comfortable bed, in a cozy little room with curtains swaying gently in the refreshing breeze coming in through open windows. Everything in the room was simple, yet clean and well-kept, including the tray on the bedside table next to him, containing a jug and cup, as well as a small stack of neatly folded hand-towels.

Once he’d taken in his surroundings, he shifted his focus to what he could hear from outside the room. Through the open window, the sound of birdsong reached his ears, a small stream of water flowing somewhere, bees humming, the wind rustling in leaves. It was the perfect picture of serenity, and yet, he found himself wishing he could hear something else, something… something that indicated the presence of the angel he had been catching glimpses of. 

Maybe… maybe he should go looking for him…

Well, that was easier said than done, but Woojin was nothing but stubborn once he’d set his mind to something, and with way more effort than he would have expected he’d need to put in, he sat up in the bed. 

His whole body protested the motion, all of his muscles burning painfully as he strained them, while the wounds on his stomach and sides tugged uncomfortably. It wasn’t until he tried to swing his legs out of the bed that real pain ripped through him, though, and he groaned in discomfort as his vision blurred, too. 

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to get up, after all, he thought as he tried to catch his breath.

“Oh, no no no! No, Sir; no! Where do you think you are going? Absolutely not, you are in no shape to get up!” A voice suddenly sounded from the door, approaching rapidly, and then there were hands on his shoulders pushing him back to lie down.

Before he could even focus his sight on the angel, he had already maneuvered him to lie down and tucked him in again. All that was left to do for Woojin was blink up at him in confusion.

“So, you decided to wake up as soon as I leave you alone for two minutes, huh? I should be offended; I really should!” The angel chastised, and even though it was silly, Woojin felt the urge to apologize.

“I’m… I’m sorry?” It sounded like a question, with how quiet and soft he spoke.

The angel blinked down at him, just to follow his surprised expression up with the sunshine smile Woojin had caught glimpses of.

“Oh, I was just kidding; don’t worry about it! I’m glad you woke up! I thought I was going to lose you way too many times in the past days…”

It was Woojin’s turn to blink up at him with an expression of confusion painting his face. 

“W-what?  _ Days _ ?!”

The angel hummed.

“Days, going on two weeks, to be exact.”

Dread consumed Woojin, and he tried to sit up again.

“I can’t stay, I have to go, the hunters-”

The angel placed gentle hands on his shoulders again, pushing him back down determinedly; with the state Woojin was in, there was nothing he could do against it even if he’d tried.

“They already passed through here just hours after you arrived, and have since left, long ago.”

“They were here?! What did you tell them?!”

The angel hummed in affirmation, looking pensive as he seemed to try to recall the moment.

“Well, they asked me if I’d seen a bear pass through…”

Woojin paled considerably, but the angel continued.

“I told them I hadn’t, since I hadn’t left the house yet today...”

He smiled knowingly down at Woojin.

“And.… well, you were already human at the time. Then they asked if any people had passed through before they’d arrived, but again, I told them no. You hadn’t passed through, after all; you were still here. They looked frustrated, and warned me of any strangers or bears roaming the area, and I asked them if they weren’t from here, since if they were, they’d know there are no bears here. They weren’t happy, but left eventually.”

Woojin stared at the angel incredulously, and he flashed him an innocent smile.

“What?”

Woojin shook his head.

“Why would you cover for me?”

The angel shrugged.

“You were in a really bad shape, and I wasn’t about to let them slaughter you in my house. If you want to continue that game of cat and mouse with them, you can do so once you’re healed and not bleeding out on the floor of my apiary!”

Woojin gaped at him, but snapped his mouth shut once he realized how dumb he must be looking right then.

“Right, the apiary- uh… thank you. And, sorry…”

The angel tilted his head questioningly, as if wanting to ask “For what?”

“For, uhm… for scaring you, when I came in like that… I didn’t mean to… I was, just, starving, and when I smelled the honey…”

The angel grinned at him. 

“Oh, so it is true? Bears are really that drawn to honey?”

Woojin blushed lightly.

“Well, it’s… it’s a nice treat, and it gives us a lot of strength, so…”

The angel hummed in understanding, then pointed a warning finger at Woojin that had him press himself flat into the pillows underneath him.

“Oh, in that case… I’m warning you now, bear: stay away from my hives, or those hunters will be the least of your problems!”

Woojin went a little cross-eyed as he fixed his eyes on the threatening finger, and the angel’s serious expression broke, giving way to an amused giggle before he retracted his finger.

“I’m serious, though; no breaking into my hives. If you want honey, come to me.”

Woojin blinked slowly, focusing on the angel’s face again.

“To you…?”

The angel hummed, moving to fill the cup with whatever was in the jug on the bedside table, taking the cup and holding it out for Woojin to take. The smell of some kind of herbal infusion, laced thickly with honey, already cold, filled Woojin’s nose.

“I’ll gladly give you some of my honey if you ask me for it; just leave the bees alone. You’ll only get yourself stung if you bother them, anyway. Here, drink this. I’ve been making you drink while you were passed out to get some strength back into you, but now you can do that yourself… right?”

Woojin freed his hands of the blanket carefully, taking the cup from the angel’s hands, and sipped the tea carefully. It didn’t taste awful, the bitterness of the herbs masked almost entirely by the sweetness of the honey. He could almost pretend he was eating pure honey, if it wasn’t for the liquid being a little too fluid for that. He finished the cup relatively quickly, and the angel took the empty cup from him with a satisfied smile. Woojin was pensive, though.

“I still can’t believe you actually saved me… I still feel like I must’ve died and gone to heaven…” he mused, but the angel snorted, very un-angel-like.

“Oh you haven’t, trust me! You’re very much alive. Why wouldn’t I save you, though?”

Woojin shrugged, wincing when the motion tugged at his wounds.

“I came into your apiary in my bear-form, scaring the living daylights out of you, just to collapse moments later. I don’t know anyone who’d just decide to nurse a half-dead bear that’s broken into their house back to health…”

The angel hummed.

“You turned into a human the moment you collapsed, though…”

“Even worse! Aren’t you supposed to be afraid of shifters?”

The angel tilted his head.

“Why? Are you dangerous?”

Woojin looked sheepish.

“Well… I can be…”

“Are you going to hurt me?” For some reason, he didn’t look worried about that possibility at all. 

“No!” Woojin still made sure to answer hastily.

“Then I don’t see why I should be afraid of you.” He stated with finality, and Woojin was left to stare at the angel incredulously as he got up.

“Well, uhm… Actually, now that you are awake: what is your name?”

Woojin shook himself out of his incredulous state.

“Woojin.”

“Woojin… Your name even sounds like it would suit a bear... I’m Chan.”

Chan… The angel had a name fitting for an angel, too.

“Why, thank you.” Chan chuckled. “I don’t know if I’m all that angelic, though.”

Woojin blushed something fierce; had he really just said that out loud? Apparently so.

“Now, to why I originally came in here, though: your wounds. We need to change these bandages.”

Woojin felt his throat dry, but nodded anyway. Chan gave him a comforting smile before leaving the room for a moment, coming back with a bowl of warm water and more towels soon after. 

Chan’s hands were gentle on his body, grip firm but comfortingly so as he handled his limbs, bandages and towels, cleaning the wounds and sponge-bathing Woojin in the process. It was most likely not the first time he did this, Woojin figured, since he felt pretty fresh and clean overall, something he wouldn’t feel if Chan had left him the way he’d passed out in his back-door.

As he worked, Chan eventually began humming softly, and Woojin found himself enraptured by the gentle melodies, wondering what Chan’s singing voice would sound like. He didn’t dare ask, though, staying quiet until Chan started applying a sticky salve-like paste to his wounds.

“What is that?” He asked Chan, wondering if his senses were tricking him.

“Mostly honey, with some herbs.” Chan explained, and Woojin’s eyes widened slightly as he confirmed his suspicions.

“Honey? Why honey?” 

Chan gave him a patient smile before turning his attention back to the task at hand.

“Honey has many healing properties. It’s good for infections, colds, open wounds, indigestions… a lot of things. It’s helped heal your wounds quite well so far.”

Woojin believed him; the way he was feeling compared to when he’d arrived spoke for itself, and what he could see of the wounds Chan uncovered, cleaned and dressed again finished convincing him. He wasn’t about to argue, letting Chan do his work while trying to be as helpful as possible when Chan had to maneuver him around to access all the wounds.

The worst ones were on his torso, and Chan saved those for last, being extra careful when it was their turn. Woojin stared in disbelief when he saw the cuts had been stitched up neatly, the swelling already having gone down, infections mostly gone.

“You… you stitched me up?”

Chan hummed.

“I wasn’t about to leave you to run around with your guts falling out… Of course I stitched you up.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t feel anything…”

“You didn’t. You were more dead than alive when I did it; you didn’t even twitch. It was one of those moments where I thought you were done for.”

Woojin swallowed thickly.

“I really came close to… to, well…”

“To dying.”

“Yeah… to that, didn’t I?”

Chan hummed, looking up from what he was doing to give Woojin a serious look.

“You did. Honestly, it’s a miracle you even kept going for so long before passing out in my apiary. Please take better care of yourself in the future, once you’re good to leave. I’d suggest no more trifling with hunters, for starters.”

Woojin swallowed thickly, agreeing with a nod, completely serious despite the joking note in Chan’s last words. 

Chan finished dressing the last of the wounds, letting Woojin rest back into the pillows. He was exhausted, and it was obvious.

“Rest up and take a nap. If you need me, just call. I’ll be right down the hall.” Chan patted his shoulder gently after pulling the blankets up higher around Woojin. By the time he had gathered the dirty towels and the bowl with dirty water, ready to leave the room, Woojin was already fast asleep.

*#*#*#*

Woojin’s recovery was slow, and yet Chan was nothing but patient with him. He was always just a thought away, helping him not just with redressing his wounds, but with everything he could possibly need and couldn’t do by himself. Woojin was just glad that eventually, he was strong enough to leave the bed and come with Chan to the apiary, where the other was still busy harvesting honey, propolis, pollen and honeycomb, packing and filling everything into different sized jars, neatly labelled and carefully stacked in crates, to be laden onto a cart and brought to the town half a day trip away from here for selling.

After that, Woojin would have expected Chan to be done with the work with honey, but far from it. There was wax to clean, comb foundations to press and frame, supers and super frames to clean and prepare for storage, empty hives to clean and ready for new swarms, food to cook for the winter, and the list went on. Chan rarely rested, staying on his feet day in and day out, and still he still managed to take care of Woojin, who mainly… just sat around eating honey.

“Chan, please, let me help you. At least let me do something I can do while sitting down.” Woojin asked, again and again, and every time Chan’s answer was the same.

“No, it’s ok, Woojin, I’m almost done anyway…”

Chan was never almost done, there was always something new, if he wasn’t actually doing three to five things at the same time.

“Chan, seriously. Give me something to do! I can’t just sit around here and do nothing while you keep slaving away!”

Woojin would whine, but Chan would only smile fondly, maybe come over to pat his shoulder or back and answer him in always the same fashion.

“You’re not doing nothing; you’re healing. I got this, don’t worry.”

Woojin was worrying, though. Chan worked a lot, from sunrise to sundown, both for his bees and for Woojin. 

Eventually, Woojin decided to stop coming to the apiary with Chan, no longer able to sit around idly while Chan worked next to him. He was getting better, almost healed, and fully aware that the time was coming where he would have to leave. 

Now, he’d always been a solitary creature, preferring to roam alone and unbothered than to interact with others if in any way avoidable -and that included shifters, humans and bears alike- and yet… the thought of leaving Chan and go back to his solitary life didn’t sound appealing to him at all.

Chan seemed put off by Woojin deciding not to join him in the apiary, though, and he soon went to find him.

“Woojin? Is something wrong?” He asked gently, finding Woojin lying on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling, with the door wide open.

Woojin hummed non-committedly.

“Not really, no. I just don’t want to sit by watching uselessly while you do all the work on your own.”

Chan sighed quietly, stepping into the room to sit down on the chair next to Woojin’s back.

“I’m sorry I’m making you feel useless. It’s just… apiary work is tricky to learn, and looks easier than it is. I don’t want to bother you with work that will be hard for you, while it is child’s play for me, who’s used to it.”

Woojin sat up, catching Chan’s gaze with his own.

“Chan, I’ve been asking for you to teach me; you wouldn’t be bothering me with it!”

Chan smiled sheepishly.

“You’re right… I’m sorry…?”

Woojin huffed softly, but there was no way he could stay mad at Chan.

“Are you going to let me do something?” 

Chan let out a relieved breath, humming in affirmation.

“Come clean wax with me; I could use someone doing the melting while I press the new foundations.”

Woojin was elated that he got something to do, momentarily forgetting about his heavy heart that came with the thought of leaving Chan. 

Chan was gentle in teaching him the ways of a beekeeper, one task at a time as he managed to convince Chan to let him do more and more things; his patience seemed sheer endless, and working alongside him once he got a hang of things was really fun.

The day came when he figured he was fully healed, though, and he decided to leave by the next monday, but by the time the next monday rolled around, he had already a full arsenal of excuses lined up to convince himself to stay one more day… And one more… And another one. 

Weeks stretched into months, and slowly Summer turned into Fall, and a dreaded task was coming up for Chan, too; he had to fill his cart and make the trek to the town to sell his products and buy new supplies for himself. For a few days it looked like Chan would apply the same technique that had aided Woojin in staying until now, but eventually Chan really set a date, got the cart ready and left for the town. 

Woojin stayed behind; as a decidedly non-social creature the last thing he wanted was find himself in the middle of a town. 

As he waited for Chan to return -which was only to happen the next day- he started feeling restless. He had waited too long to actually leave, and now it was like a burning ache under his skin, the need to leave, to roam free, to be alone.

It was both a shame and a blessing that Chan wasn’t there; if Chan had been there, he would surely have managed to push his departure further ahead to spend one more day with the honey-blonde beekeeper whose smile was sweeter than all the honey he’d been snacking on these past few months. In that regard, it was a good thing Chan wasn’t there.

On the other hand… What he wouldn’t give to see that sweet smile one more time before he left… But if he waited around for Chan to come back, he would stay again. No, he had to leave now, while Chan wasn’t here!

*#*#*#*

Chan’s heart dropped out of his ribcage and to somewhere near his ankles when he came back to a completely still house, all windows and doors closed. For a long suffering moment, he thought Woojin might have been captured by hunters in his absence, but his house was too intact for that. Then, he found the letter Woojin had left, explaining his decision.

His heart returned to its place, aching and bleeding there. 

Woojin had left.

And he hadn’t had a chance to say a last goodbye. Hadn’t gotten the chance to hear his sweeter than honey laugh one more time...

Hadn’t had the chance to run his hand through those beautiful dark locks of his once again, letting them curl around his fingers while Woojin let his head rest against Chan’s chest, as he did so often, the silent gestures telling so much more than any words...

He would never get the chance to know if Woojin’s heart beat faster when he entered the room, just like his own did for Woojin. He’d never get to know if Woojin felt the same butterflies in his stomach going wild in their attempts to push him closer to the other when he did something particularly… appealing.

He would never get to cup that precious face with the distinctly chiseled features in his hands, pull it closer, down to him, and capture those beautiful lips with his own.

It was too late now.

Woojin was gone, and Chan was alone again.

He’d always thought he enjoyed being alone, which was why he’d come to live out here. And for a long time, it was true. He had his bees, some chicken and the mare he coaxed into pulling his cart to the town every few months, and it had always been enough for him. 

But now, it wasn’t. As the days passed, turning into weeks, then into a month, two, three, Chan realized it wasn’t enough. He didn’t miss people per se -he confirmed that on his last trip to the town before the winter would fall- didn’t miss anyone from the town, didn’t want to see any people; all he wanted was to see Woojin again.

But Woojin didn’t come back.

*#*#*#*

Winter couldn’t come soon enough for Woojin; he longed for the cold, short days that would coax him into finding a cave just big enough for him, where he could curl up safely and sleep through the winter without having a voice in the back of his mind constantly nagging him.

He knew it had been a mistake to leave Chan.

It had been a mistake, and he was paying the price for it daily. He found himself constantly longing for the mountains, the soft valley between them where Chan had made his home. 

He would find himself daydreaming of honey blonde curls and a smile that rivalled the sun, of warm laughs and gentle hands. He dreamt of strong shoulders and delicate words, of a muscled chest that was perfect to lean on and an open heart that accepted him just the way he was, for what he was, without reservations. 

He found himself running way too close to humans during his daydreaming, often just narrowly managing to hide in time or flee. He was living a dangerous life, and it was about time he slept long and deep over the whole ordeal, before he ran into serious trouble.

*#*#*#*

The first day of spring was marked by a large patch of snowdrop blooming in the backyard of Chan’s house. Chan found the flowers even before his bees did, but not by much. Soon, though, there would be more flowers, and finally, his bees would have enough to eat again.

The beginning of spring also marked Chan’s next trip to the town, though. He had candles and soap to sell that he’d made over the winter, as well as plenty of dry honey-bread, mead and various salves and ointments. 

Just a few more days of snow melting, freeing the roads again…

In the end, though, Chan waited a whole two weeks before gathering his things and setting out for the town, once again not thrilled to leave, and already dreading having to come back to an empty house again afterwards. He had to go, though.

He left early in the morning, spending the afternoon selling his products to various stores, intending to spend the next day selling the rest directly on the market. It was evening when he reached the market square, yet most marketenders were only just starting to close up their stands. It must have been a good day, then; that meant tomorrow would not be great, but he'd still set up his own stand. He'd get up early and try to get a really good spot, perhaps close to the stage on the raised end of the square, if possible… 

He pushed his way through the still remarkably thick crowd to scout out a possible spot closer to the stage, when the voice of the announcer cut through the din of the market.

"And don't miss it tomorrow, at noon sharp, when our noble Sir Arnulf will defeat and kill the beast! Our beloved lands shall be bear-free again!"

Chan froze in the middle of the crowd, his eyes drawn to the stage. He couldn't even see anything from where he was standing, just barely able to make out what looked like the top bars of a wrought iron cage. 

It took him quite a while to unfreeze and start pushing his way to the front, but when he did he was bordering violent as he did so. He didn't care about the people he shoved out of the way, whether they were inconvenienced or not, disregarding their protests. 

He made it to the area in front of the stage, and sure enough, there was a cage, and on the ground inside it, held down by heavy chains, a huge bear. 

Chan's heart stuttered, even though he wasn't able to tell if the bear was perhaps Woojin. It was just a bear, the colour of its fur a dark brown with the slightest red hue, not unlike Woojin's hair colour, but still… he hadn't seen Woojin in his bear form except for that one time when he'd come into his apiary and fainted in the door. And then, he'd been a little too preoccupied with… other things, like the fact that there was a bear at all, to notice any peculiarities that would help him identify the bear later on.

It bothered him greatly that he couldn't tell if the bear was Woojin or not. Either way, he felt for the poor creature, beaten down and caged, defenseless against the stones, rotten food and other objects that had been thrown at it throughout the day. He was sure its execution tomorrow wouldn't be a fair procedure, either. 

It was bad enough if the bear was a regular bear, but it must be absolutely horrible if the bear was actually a shifter, able to understand exactly what was going on around them; and if they shifted, that would leave them even more defenseless and subject to even worse torture.

Slowly, the crowd around Chan started thinning, yet Chan didn't move. When nightfall came, he was one of only very few people left on the market square, and for the first time since he arrived there, the bear shifted. Just slightly, just freeing its head from under his paws to look out over the market square.

Immediately, it froze when its eyes landed on Chan. Chan's heart stuttered as he made eye contact with the bear, both of them holding it for a seemingly infinite moment, until Chan mouthed soundlessly:

"Woojin?"

The bear closed his eyes in a deliberately slow blink, before opening them again to make eye contact with Chan again.

Chan felt tears well up in his eyes at what he understood as the confirmation that the bear was really Woojin. Of course he would be, he thought; of course. There were no bears in this part of the country. None other than Woojin. He quickly forced the tears back down, though.

"I'm going to get you out of there!" he mouthed at the bear, and its eyes widened. With a subtle movement, it shook its head, but Chan mirrored the gesture. 

"No; I will!" He muttered back, and it was quiet enough on the square that Woojin should be able to hear him by now. In response, the bear blinked his eyes slowly again, the look he gave Chan afterwards resigned, then tentatively hopeful, and overall -or at least Chan understood it that way- fond.

It got darker around them, and Chan realized he'd soon be the only one on the square besides Woojin. If he stayed there any longer, he'd raise suspicions. Besides, if he wanted to free Woojin, he'd have to prepare, get some tools, and come up with a plan. 

"I'll be back soon…" he whispered, and he could tell Woojin heard him, longing flashing in his gaze as if he wanted to say "please don't go…". And still Chan knew that Woojin understood -would understand- why he had to leave. 

He came back hours later, when it was safe to say that pretty much the entire city was asleep, including many a guard, and apparently, Woojin, too.

"Woojin!" Chan hissed as he crouched on the ground next to the cage, hiding in the shadows as well as possible.

Woojin startled awake, the chains holding him down clinking loudly in the otherwise dead silent square.

"Shhh, stop moving!"

Woojin relaxed upon hearing Chan's voice, sinking back down into his previous position. 

"Woojin, can you shift?" Chan whispered, and Woojin tilted his head in question.

"Once I have this door open, can you shift? You should be able to get out of the shackles if you do…" 

Woojin didn't answer, looking at the heavy lock and chain holding the door to the cage closed instead.

"Don't worry about that, I got this. Can you shift, though? When I tell you to?"

Woojin thought about it for a moment, then nodded once. Chan breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Ok. Ok, great. Try not to move until then, we don't want to attract any attention to ourselves."

Woojin didn't respond, just watching as Chan forewent the lock entirely, inspecting the hinges instead. The door was secured by bolts held in place with nuts at the bottom. With the utmost care and precision, Chan went about unscrewing the nuts, careful not to make any noises. First one, then the other, came loose, and he moved on from them to the bolts. Those were harder to loosen, but Chan still managed. The hardest part came when he tried to move the door, though. It was heavy, too heavy for him. 

Quietly, barely audible, Woojin growled, attracting Chan's attention.

"What?" Chan asked, and Woojin nodded at the door. Chan shook his head.

"You can't. It'll be too noisy."

Woojin huffed, though, shifting around to get his legs under his body, starting to push himself up. The chains clinked and rattled, and Chan paled.

"Woojin, no! Someone will hear us!"

Woojin didn't listen, finishing getting up. The chains pulled taut, but he stemmed himself against them.

"Woojin, please! Please don't! Don't try to snap them! We'll be found out!" Chan pleaded, but Woojin shook his head, growling lowly in frustration. 

It took a moment before Chan understood what the bear was planning to do, when he started pushing against the bottom of the door, pushing it out of the hinges.

"Woojin… if it falls, it'll be over for us; please…" Chan whimpered, but Woojin paid him no mind. 

The bottom of the door slid out, the top following soon after, and the whole thing tilted. Chan could only watch in horror, but instead of falling to the ground, the door fell on Woojin, muffling the sound considerably. Woojin grunted, lowering the door with his body and ultimately to the floor, barely making a noise other than the slight clinking of the chains. 

Chan was still stressed, even more so when Woojin's legs seemed to give out under him and he fell to the ground hard; and not just because of the noise it made.

"Woojin!" He gasped, rushing to his side inside the cage. 

Woojin exhaled forcibly, closing his eyes as Chan's hands came up to cradle his head. He leaned into the touch heavily, and Chan choked back a sob.

"You're going to stay with me, aren't you? Woojin, don't pass out, I can't haul you across the city unconscious. I need you able to walk. Please."

Woojin took a few deep breaths, and then Chan felt it. His head was getting lighter, the chains were loosening, his fur became less thick. Soon, the change was visible, and Woojin's form shrunk rapidly, until all of his fur was gone and just his bare, human body lay in front of Chan, only covered by the chains.

Chan bit back his tears, starting to remove the chains from Woojin instead. The huge ring around his neck went first, the shackles on his wrists next. Chan worked almost frantically, doing his best to ignore the wounds and bruises the iron rings and objects thrown at him had caused, trying instead to make as little noise as possible as he freed Woojin. It was hard when all he wanted to focus on was not hurting Woojin any further and getting him out of there as fast as possible so he could take care of him, though.

Eventually, he was done freeing Woojin from the shackles and chains, maneuvering him out of the cage as soon as he could. There, he reached for a bundle he’d brought and left just outside the cage before going in to help Woojin, containing some tools, but most importantly, clothes for Woojin.

“Here, put this on…” He shook out the cloth making up most of the bundle, revealing it to be a long cloak that he proceeded to drape around Woojin’s shoulders, pulling the hood up over his head.

“Come, we should leave. Can you stand?”

Woojin nodded, but still Chan helped him up. He was unstable on his feet, and Chan dove to his side, slipping under his arm and holding him against his side to help hold him up. 

“Ok, it should work like this. Right? Do you think you can make it to the inn I’m staying at like this?”

Woojin hummed pensively, not answering for a moment, before he nodded.

“If it’s not too far…”

“It isn’t.” Chan promised him, starting to guide him down the steps. They made it off the stage, off the square and into the streets safely, but by then Woojin’s strength was almost depleted. He leaned heavier and heavier against Chan, who basically carried him by now. They were only able to move slowly, when suddenly a city guard appeared in front of them.

“Hey! Who goes there?!” They demanded, and Woojin froze. Chan didn’t, though.

“It’s just me, Sir. Bang Chan, the beekeeper from the mountains.”

The guard stepped forward, closer to them.

“Ah, you; I know you. And that one?” He nodded at Woojin’s slumped form.

“This? Oh, this, uhm…” Chan sweated slightly, but thankfully it was so dark that the guard wouldn’t be able to see that. “This is… well, it’s kind of embarrassing, Sir…” Chan tried to buy time as he struggled to find a good excuse.

“This is, uh, my apprentice, Sir. He’s… he’s from a very small village up in the mountains, and, well, he’s never been to the city before, and, uh… All the taverns, and… and other attractions… He isn’t used to them, and, well, took it too far, clearly…”

A slow smile tugged at the guards lips. 

“So your apprentice ran off and got himself drunk out of his wits, is what you’re trying to tell me?”

Chan sighed.

“Basically, yeah…”

The guards let out a short laugh.

“Mighty fine of you to go looking for him and drag him back home instead of letting him sleep his hangover off on the streets! You should still make sure you punish him accordingly for that escapade, though! It’s not safe for village boys on these streets at night!”

Chan pretended to let out a long suffering sigh.

“I know, I know, Sir… And I will have to, won’t I…”

The guard nodded.

“They need to learn somehow, these kids, and they won’t without a hard hand! You have to be strict with them!”

Chan nodded, seemingly agreeing.

“I know… I’m learning that quite fast myself! But there’s also no point in punishing them when they are drunk and don’t feel it anyway. No, I’ll wait with that until he’s sober again and ready to reflect about his actions.” Chan reasoned when the guard looked a little too eager to offer him help with the punishment of the “apprentice”. His words got the guard to back off again.

“Well thought, truly… Well, get him home quickly and both of you off these streets! Hurry!”

“Yes, Sir!” Chan agreed, starting to pull Woojin along with him again, and the guard stepped out of the way to let them pass without any further hassle. Chan could only keep praying under his breath that they’d not run into anyone else on the way back to the inn, and thankfully, they didn’t. He got Woojin inside fairly quietly, up the stairs and to his room, where he lowered him onto the bed.

“Your drunk apprentice… Really, now…?” Woojin mumbled, unamused, and Chan let out a sigh.

“It was an emergency excuse in a stressful situation; it made sense and the guard bought it, so it fulfilled its purpose.”

Woojin grumbled in annoyance, quietly.

“We’ll have to stick to that excuse now, though… The guards are nothing if not chatterboxes. By now, probably half of the city’s legions know about you, the hero master who drags his drunk apprentices home in the dead of night.”

“Well, we’ll work with that. First of all, your wounds, though.” Chan didn’t disagree, but deflected as he took Woojin’s hand in his own, pulling it closer and into the light to inspect the bruises and cuts littering his wrist.

“They’re not that bad… I’m only weak because I haven’t eaten in a while…”

Chan snorted.

“Familiar pattern… Do you reckon you can eat while I start looking after your wounds?”

Woojin hummed his assent, and Chan left to get a large jar of honey and a half eaten bread, handing them to Woojin.

“Pour, don’t dip, please…” He reminded Woojin, who nodded, looking up shortly.

“I know; I remember. I won’t spoil it.”

Chan trusted Woojin no to, which was why he left him to eat as he saw fit while he started to gather things to tend to his wounds. When he returned, he also handed a jug with water to Woojin, who took it gratefully and emptied half of it in one go. Chan watched sadly, waiting for him to put it down again and look up at him, questions in his eyes.

“How long has it been since they caught you?”

Woojin sighed softly, averting his gaze.

“Not too long, only a day and a half…” He reassured Chan, knowing that the other was worried he’d been starved in captivity for a long time. “I hadn’t been out of hibernation for long yet, though, only a little over a week… Haven’t really had the chance to eat much and regain my strength yet.”

Chan shook his head sadly, staying quiet as he watched Woojin devour the bread and honey hungrily, washing it all down with the water from the jug.

“You should slow down, it’ll hurt you to eat like that… You don’t have to rush, no one is after you, you have all the time in the world.” He tried softly, and Woojin actually did slow down. 

He didn’t look like he was in too much pain as he moved, and so Chan decided to let him finish before bothering him with cleaning and dressing his wounds.

Once Woojin did finish, Chan took the empty honey jar and jug from him, setting them down on the small table in the room.

“Can I see your wounds now?” He asked, and Woojin nodded. He reached for the drawstrings on the cloak he’d draped around Woojin, but hesitated before undoing them until Woojin gave him an encouraging nod. Only then did he undo them, letting the fabric fall off and pool around Woojin’s waist. He sucked his breath in sharply as the shifters body was revealed, the full extent of the bruises and cuts littering him revealed to him in the flickering candlelight. 

“They’re not that bad… Just scratches, mostly. Nothing deep.” Woojin tried to reassure him, but Chan gave him a look that made him slump his shoulders and give in.

“I’m still cleaning those and dressing the deeper ones. You don’t need another infection, you’re weakened enough! Let me take care of you…” He added the last part much softer, and if Woojin hadn’t given in before, he would have right then.

Without any more words exchanged between them, Chan started cleaning Woojin’s wounds, while the latter just sat there, motionless, and followed Chan’s movements with his eyes; and yet, it seemed as if his mind was far, far away, for when Chan spoke to him, he didn’t get an answer. Not the first time, not the second, not the fifth. For the sixth, Chan cupped Woojin’s face, bringing his head up until their eyes were meeting.

“H-huh?” Woojin asked, ever so eloquently, and Chan huffed, fondly exasperated, but also a little worried.

“Are you ok? I’ve been calling your name and you haven’t answered all this time…”

Woojin shook his head lightly.

“I… I’m fine. I just… I was lost in thought, don’t worry…” 

Chan pursed his lips, shaking his head.

“Lost in thought, huh… Anyway, I was asking if I can take care of your legs now. I’ll need you to sit back for that.”

“O-oh… Yes, yes, sure…” Woojin braced himself on the edge of the bed, trying to scoot back, but his arms shook underneath him and he didn’t go far. Chan had to help him, and in the end Woojin ended up lying more on the bed than sitting. Chan didn’t mind, not at all. Lying down was ok, it was good, it meant he got to rest.

By the time he was done tending to Woojin’s wounds, it looked like the shifter had already drifted off to sleep. Chan smiled fondly, even if he didn’t quite manage to keep the pain he felt for the other out of the smile, and pulled the blankets up around Woojin to tuck him in.

“Chan?” Woojin asked groggily, and Chan hummed in response. Woojin blinked his eyes back open with a bit of a struggle.

“Chan, I can’t take your bed… You have to work tomorrow… You need to rest… ”

“So do you.” Chan pushed Woojin back down when he tried to get up. “Don’t worry, I will rest.”

Woojin frowned.

“You’re not going to suggest you’ll sleep on the floor, are you?”

Chan sighed.

“I was, but if you are against that… I mean, the bed isn’t exactly big and it would be a tight fit, but if you don’t mind, I’d be willing to share.”

In response, Woojin scooted back on the bed some more, opening space for Chan, which Chan quickly accepted after blowing out the candles and shedding his day-clothes.

To make sure neither of them fell out of the bed, they had to lie close together, which wasn’t naturally a problem, but…

“You’re not running a fever again, are you?” Chan asked after a moment. He could feel Woojin shake his head on the pillow in response.

“No. My body is naturally warmer than yours. Is it too warm for you?”

It was Chan’s turn to shake his head.

“Not at all; I was just making sure. I won’t be able to guarantee that I won’t be drawn to cuddle up to you in my sleep in search of warmth, though.”

Woojin’s breath hitched, and then he chuckled, a little nervously.

“You don’t have to wait until you fall asleep to do that, you know…”

Chan blushed, but the darkness hid it. It didn’t hide the flush of warmth on his face, which Woojin confirmed by cupping Chan’s face in his hand. He chuckled softly but didn’t comment, instead urging Chan to come closer, which he did. Woojin was only satisfied when Chan rested his head on his shoulder, though.

“I’m not hurting you like this, am I?” Chan worried, and Woojin shook his head again, brushing some of Chan’s hair out of his face tenderly.

“No. If you were, I’d say something. You’re fine.”

Chan breathed a sigh of relief, snuggling further against Woojin’s warmth, while the bear-shifter accomodated him and molded his body to Chan’s in turn.

Sleep found both of them quickly, but they didn’t have long to rest. Chan had to be up early to find a good place for his stall on the market-place, since he figured it would be too suspicious if he broke his usual pattern and just left with Woojin now, with all of his goods, instead of selling them.

“You’re leaving already?” Woojin grumbled when Chan got up.

“Yeah, I need a good place for my stall. You can stay and rest, though.”

To his surprise, Woojin shook his head, though.

“No. They’ll have found out that I’m gone by now, and since we didn’t break the chains and shackles, they’ll figure they must have caught a shifter. They’ll search the city, and if they find me here…”

Chan’s heart sank with dread. Woojin’s injuries were too obvious, if they found him hiding here and seized him, they’d find out who he must be immediately.

“We’ll keep up the story from last night, then. You’re my apprentice; you’ll come to the market with me, hide in plain sight. Let me do all the talking, ok?”

Woojin frowned but nodded.

“You’ll need clothes…” Chan mused, going through his travel bag and pulling out his only spare change of clothes, the one he took in case something went wrong and he had to make an emergency change.

The clothes were slightly too small on Woojin, but Chan made do, cutting open the hems and ends of the sleeves to make them seem longer. No one would bat an eye at a village boy with busted clothes; only few apprentices wore fine clothing, and compared to the majority, Woojin would even look spoiled in Chan’s slightly altered clothes. 

Chan made him wear the cloak, too, so he could pull the hood up and hide his face, as well as his bruised limbs. Woojin let him, not complaining. The clothes, including the cloak, smelled like Chan, and it soothed him. Being on the market-place again would be a challenge for him, but he hoped that surrounded by Chan’s scent -a scent he automatically associated with safety- and with Chan right next to him, he could keep himself from freaking out.

Once all done up, Chan led him downstairs and out of the inn. Before they could reach the front door, their host yelled out to them, though.

“Hey, beekeeper!” Chan turned around, smiling innocently.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Who’s that? He wasn’t with you yesterday!”

Chan’s smile stayed in place unwaveringly.

“Oh, that. That’s my apprentice, Sir. He came in late last night; you see, I forgot some things when I left the mountains, but didn’t want to lose a whole day turning back around to get them, so I sent him back to get them instead and join me here later. Little brat thought it would be a good idea to go check out the bars near the market when he arrived, and well… In the villages up in the mountains the ale isn’t quite as strong as down here, you know, so he didn’t find his way back until I found him and dragged him over. It was late by then, you’d already retired for the night.”

The inn-keeper shook his head, something like disappointment in his gaze.

“The youth these days… I see you already whipped him into shape though; he’s lucky he’s still alive, out on those streets with a bear on the loose…”

Chan let the smile slip of his face, replacing it with a horrified expression.

“A-a bear? You don’t mean-...”

The inn-keeper nodded.

“The one they kept on the market-place. It’s gone. They say it was a shifter, the cage’s door is busted, but the shackles are intact. Must have freed itself. That’s what they get for wanting to make a show out of it and don’t kill those beasts immediately. Bloody idiots…” He grumbled.

“Have-... Have they got any clue where it could have gone yet?” Chan asked, the worry in his tone genuine this time, though not for the reasons the inn-keeper would most likely believe.

“Nah… They say it’ll probably try to leave the city as fast as possible, so the guards at all the entrances have been doubled. There’s also the ones believing it’ll try to hide for now, so we’ve got guards combing through the city, checking every house, every alley… Especially inns. Bloody bad for business, I tell you.”

Chan hummed with compassion.

“Whom are you telling that… With a bear on the loose, not many will want to come to the market I reckon… Still gotta be there and give our best though, right? There’s not much we can do, and business is business…”

The inn-keeper looked at him with something akin to pity.

“Sucks especially for those like you, doesn’t it; why did something like this have to happen on the one day in how many months that you are actually in town…”

“Just my luck, I suppose.” Chan sighed. “We gotta go now, if we don’t want our luck to get even worse, and actually get a good spot for our stall!”

The inn-keeper tipped his hat in greeting and Chan turned to tug Woojin with him as he left for the inn’s stables, where his cart and mare waited.

“Did you have to paint such a bright story around how I appeared?” Woojin mumbled under his breath, and Chan shrugged nonchalantly.

“The more details, the more believable. People like stories about misbehaving youth, it’s something they can gossip about and exasperate over without it actually affecting them. And like this, we even have an explanation for your bruises.”

Woojin didn’t argue, silently helping Chan get the mare and cart ready. He didn’t say much on the way to the market-square, and fell completely silent once they reached it. The number of guards patrolling the square was nearly thrice as high as it was normally, while the number of merchants normal for this hour was slightly lower. Chan managed to secure the spot he’d had in mind, relatively close to the stage, and started setting up the stall. Woojin moved to help him, but Chan quickly told him off, telling him to sit down instead.

“Going easy on the kid, beekeeper? You should make him work through his hangover, that should teach him!” A passing guard laughed, coming up to them. Chan sighed, putting on a long-suffering half-smile.

“It’s not the hangover, Sir… I might have gone a little overboard with my punishment out of worry… It’d be no use if I made him work now to teach him a lesson and lose him later because he couldn’t heal properly.”

The guard grimaced as he spotted some of Woojin’s bruises.

“Yeah, you’re probably right on that… Kid’s gotta learn, though, especially when things like  _ that _ happen, right?” He nodded at the stage, with the empty cage still there.

Chan shuddered, and Woojin tensed, both of their reactions not faked.

“Don’t remind me… A close call like this one should teach him the lesson better than any beating from me ever could, though! If only I’d known that beforehand, I could have gone easier on him...”

The guard hummed.

“Or you might have gone even harder with the fear of what could have happened riding you, and regretted it even more now… We’ll never know. Anyway, take care! And if you want some advice: if you plan to leave the city today, leave early. There will be massive congestions at the gates come evening. If you’re staying another day, go back to your inn early, before nightfall, if we don’t find the beast until then.”

Chan nodded eagerly.

“Will do, Sir; thank you, Sir.” The guard left, sidling up to a colleague, and from what little Chan could hear and his gestures, told him a probably much more colorful version of Chan’s story than the one Chan had given him himself.

Woojin must have had the same thought, and he groaned quietly.

“I hate when you talk about me as if I’m not right here…”

Chan flinched, shrinking slightly into himself.

“I’m sorry…” he apologized, but Woojin shook his head.

“Don’t be. I see why it’s necessary. I just hate that it  _ is _ necessary. I can’t wait to get out of here…”

Chan nodded firmly.

“We will get out of here, as soon as possible. I promise.”

*#*#*#*

As soon as possible ended up being mid-afternoon, after the lunch and after-lunch rushes, which had been weaker than normal, but better than expected despite the fear coursing through the city. Chan packed up calmly, Woojin helping him minimally; he would have done more, but Chan wouldn’t let him. They returned to the inn and got the rest of Chan’s things, paid, and made their way towards the gates. A small line was already forming as the guards searched every cart that left the city.

Woojin was uneasy with all the guards surrounding them, very uneasy. He alternated between sitting completely rigidly on the cart next to Chan, and fidgeting nervously, to the point it looked like he’d fall off the cart at any moment.

“Relax, Woojin, it will be ok. You’ll be ok, we’re almost out of here.” Chan tried to reassure him, but it didn’t really work.

“We aren’t yet, though…” Woojin hissed back, going back to sitting rigidly.

“Any problems here?” A guard asked next to them, and Chan smiled tiredly, falling into the role he’d been playing all day when people had asked about Woojin.

“None at all, Sir. Just telling my apprentice to sit still so he doesn’t fall off the cart.”

The guard frowned at them.

“Apprentice, huh… Isn’t he a bit old to be an apprentice?”

Chan’s heart dropped to near his navel; so far, no one had questioned why his ‘apprentice’ looked like he could even be older than him.

“He looks older than he is, Sir. But true, he became my apprentice quite late…” 

“When did he become your apprentice.”

“Last summer, Sir.”

“He wasn’t with you the last time you came to the city, was he?”

“No Sir; he stayed back when I came down.”

The guard’s eyes narrowed as he looked at him.

“Why?”

Chan blinked, confused.

“Why?” He asked back.

“Why did he stay back? He must not have been with you for long by then, and you left him behind?”

“Oh… There was a lot to do back at home… Lots of preparations for the winter I was behind on…”

“And you trusted a new apprentice to stay alone in your house because of that?”

“I’ve known him for a while before he became my apprentice. Yes, I trusted him; still trust him. Why?” Chan was getting irritated by the guard, and his seemingly pointless questions. The guard ignored his return question, though.

“You came alone yesterday, too; I saw you arrive. How come he’s with you now?”

Chan sighed, deciding to repeat his story from that morning that he’d sent Woojin back to retrieve something from home that he’d forgotten, and he’d arrived later.

“And you made your apprentice travel the whole way alone, despite this being the first time you’re bringing him with you?”

‘Fuck!’ Chan thought, but tried to keep his fa çade up. In that moment, the guard was distracted, though, as another guard joined him and clapped him on the back.

“And he learned from his mistakes, I’m sure. Didn’t you, beekeeper? How’s your hangover, kid?” He addressed Woojin, and Chan recognized him as the guard he’d run into last night.

Woojin jumped at being addressed so suddenly, flinching when the sudden movement hurt his worn muscles. 

“Not too bad, Sir…” He answered quietly, keeping his head lowered.

The guard hummed thoughtfully, nodding slowly, as his eyes fell on the bruises on Woojin’s wrist that were showing.

“Bet it’s nothing compared to the ass-whooping you got from your master this morning… Let that be a lesson for you, kid! Now, on with you guys; can’t keep holding up the traffic any longer. Hurry on home so you make it up to the mountains before nightfall!”

Chan didn’t wait for him to ask again, grateful that that guard had shown up when he did and gotten his overly suspicious colleague off their backs. He hurried his horse on, quickly steering the mare towards the gates and through them. He couldn’t wait to put the city behind him; far, far behind him!

They drove in silence for a long time, only the clapping of the horse’s hooves and sound of the cart’s wheels on the dirt road audible between them. Eventually, the tense silence became less tense, and later even a comfortable one, once the city was long out of view. 

The thoughts in Chan’s head were all but silent, though. At any moment now, he expected Woojin to ask him to stop the cart so he could get off and disappear into the woods. He didn’t allow himself any illusions that maybe Woojin had missed him as much as he had. Woojin was a solitary creature, and he’d made that very clear when he’d left the last time. Just because Chan saved him, again, didn’t mean that he would want to stay with him, again.

Woojin never asked Chan, though. He was too busy thinking about when the time would come that Chan would stop the cart and ask him to leave. He’d left Chan without any kind of satisfactory explanation the last time, just cowardly ran away while Chan was gone. And just because Chan had saved him again this time, patched him back up and helped him out of the city, didn’t mean he wanted him back in his life. He could completely understand why Chan wouldn’t want him around again.

Obviously, Chan didn’t stop the cart; not until they reached his house in the valley, up in the mountains. They dismounted silently, and Chan went to tend to his horse, cooling her down gently, feeding and watering her.

When he got back, Woojin had already wheeled the cart to the door of the apiary and unloaded it, storing all the leftover products in their designated spots, and was just about to push the cart back to its designated place, too.

Chan stood back, watching him, while chewing on his lower lip nervously.

“Uhm, Woojin…” He asked eventually, when Woojin finished covering the cart and wiped the dust on his hands off on his trousers.

Woojin’s gaze snapped up immediately, eyes searching for Chan’s with a mixture of resignation and fear in them.

“I- I was wondering… would you like to stay for dinner?” Chan asked, tentative, and the tension that had squared Woojin’s shoulders up seeped out again.

“I’d love to…” He answered, and Chan smiled warmly at him.

“Come help me?” Chan asked, and Woojin hurried over. Chan intercepted him once he reached him, slowing him down with a hand to his shoulder.

“No need to rush; you’re still hurt, move slowly.”

Woojin rolled his eyes, but covered Chan’s hand with his own, squeezing it gently.

“I’m not  _ that _ hurt… I’m fine, Chan, seriously.”

Chan wouldn’t hear him, though, instead deciding to thread his fingers through Woojin’s and pull him inside the house and to the kitchen with him.

They fell easily -almost too easily!- into the rhythm they had going before, before Woojin… before he’d left. It was painfully obvious to the two of them, too, with Woojin handing Chan just the things he needed at the exact time he needed them, and with Chan just reaching out, expecting Woojin to hand him whatever he needed without having to ask about it, and getting it.

While their actions spoke a thousand words, their mouths stayed silent, until Chan declared dinner was ready and brought the pot over to the table, where plates were already set out.

They sat down to eat, doing so in silence as well. Their eyes naturally found each other many a time, though, and they shared small smiles, questioning looks, headshakes and fond huffs with each other; a whole conversation without a single word uttered.

“Thank you.” Woojin eventually broke the silence when he was done eating and pushed his plate away slightly.

“You helped make it as much as I did; I should thank you just as much.” Chan answered, collecting Woojin’s plate to carry it to the sink with his own. Whether he didn’t understand that Woojin was trying to thank him for so much more, or just decided to ignore it, that was his secret to keep. Woojin didn’t correct him, though. Instead, he got up slowly, but before he could gather himself and say something, Chan interrupted him.

“How are your wounds?”

Woojin shrugged.

“They weren’t that bad in the beginning; they didn’t get worse since then.”

Chan frowned, though.

“You keep saying that, but  _ I _ thought they were bad enough from the start. Would you mind if I looked them over again?”

Woojin wanted to say yes, he minded. But at the same time, he didn’t. He wanted Chan’s hands on him again, even if it was just to tend to the small scratches littering his body, wanted to drag it out until he had to leave again. And so he answered him he could.

Chan guided Woojin to the room he’d stayed in before, and Woojin felt like he’d been punched in the gut as he entered the room and everything looked exactly like it had when he’d left. The same stack of fresh towels on the dresser, the shoes where he’d left them at the foot of the bed, his jacket draped over the back of the only chair in the room, and even the carving knife and started carving of a stylized honeycomb Woojin had never finished sitting on the bedside table, with the bucket of wood chippings next to it, hadn’t been moved.

Chan looked sad at the sight of Woojin’s things.

“I just couldn’t get rid of them, you know… I secretly thought-... hoped-...” He broke off, inhaling a shaky breath. “Never mind…” He whispered, trying to wipe the sadness off his face and smile at Woojin as he turned around to face him. Woojin wasn’t fooled, though, Chan’s words having hit him right where it hurt.

“I’m sorry, Chan…” He started, but Chan shook his head, interrupting him.

“It’s okay, Woojin. I understand. You- you need your space, away from people, humans, anyone, and I-”

“You don’t.” Woojin interrupted him, too. Chan blinked owlishly at him, confusion clear in his gaze.

“You don’t understand. You can’t. If even I don’t understand why I did it, how could you?” He whispered, having to keep his voice low so he could keep the choked quality of it hidden. “I made a mistake, Chan. I know that now. I thought… I thought I needed to be alone, thought it for so long. But I didn’t want to be alone when I could be with you instead. That’s why I dragged my departure out for so long. Then you left, and I felt so antsy…! I thought it was because I needed to finally be alone again, to be free… But it wasn’t. I was feeling restless  _ because _ I was alone;  _ because _ you weren’t there. I realized that way too late, though.” He finished, tears rolling down his face. 

Seeing Woojin’s tears, Chan couldn’t hold his own back anymore, either, as he reached out to cup Woojin’s face and wipe at his tears.

“Then why didn’t you just come back? My door was - _ is _ \- always open for you, Woojinnie…” His voice cracked, and Woojin inhaled deeply.

“I thought I’d messed up too badly. I ran away, and I thought… I couldn’t just turn back around, show up at your door and ask you to take me back in. Not when I’d been planning to leave you again for so long already… It didn’t feel right.”

Chan huffed, exasperated.

“You could have come back, Woojin. Anytime. You are always welcome here. I would always have taken you back in in a heartbeat. I- I still would, Woojin. I think I always will.”

Woojin felt his throat close up, and he swallowed thickly to dislodge the knot forming there, but it did nothing. He tried again, and again, with the same result.

“Chan…” He croaked eventually, voice broken, closing his eyes as the name brought a new wave of tears to the surface.

Chan stepped closer, caressing Woojin’s wet cheeks softly.

“Woojin, look at me, please?” He asked, gentle. 

Woojin did as he was asked, and despite the tear tracks on Chan’s own face, he was reminded of why he had thought Chan to be an angel when he’d first seen him. Now more than ever, he was sure the other was actually an angel.

“Woojin… My Woojinnie… Can I… Can I kiss you?” The tips of Chan’s ears turned red, just barely, yet it was all Woojin could focus on as his mouth dried, his head spun, the world seemed to tilt around him before his entire focus zeroed in on Chan as a whole.

“C-can you- Heavens, Chan, yes, p-please-” 

His desperate stammering was cut off by Chan’s full, plump lips landing on his own, closing his mouth effectively as they busied Woojin’s lips with an entirely more enjoyable activity than talking.

Chan kissed him thoroughly, giving him just enough room to breathe so they didn’t have to part, his hands dropping from his face to his shoulders, arms looping around his neck as he held him closer. Woojin was too stunned to do much at first, taking a moment before he could kiss Chan back, but when he did, his kiss was hungry, desperate. Chan gave willingly, though, soothing him as much as he riled him up, taking just as much back as Woojin was offering him in the process. 

It was only when Chan let out a slightly strangled noise that Woojin relented, relaxing his own hold on Chan.

“Easy there, bear. Don’t crush me just yet, when I’ve only just started enjoying myself.”

Woojin stared at Chan in disbelief, concern marring his features, before he let out an incredulous, breathless laugh.

“Chan… Oh Channie… I-...” He broke off, shaking his head, and Chan laughed, too, running his hands through his hair lovingly.

“Don’t think about it. Just kiss me again, would you?”

Woojin didn’t have to be asked twice.

*#*#*#*

When the morning sun sent its first rays through the windows of Chan’s house the next day, it found the owner of the house in a different room than usually, his feet sticking out of a blanket entangled with another pair of legs. He was fast asleep, even though it was way past the time he’d usually get up at.

Instead, it found Woojin wide awake, blinking back at the sunrise, arms firmly wrapped around the body of the honey-blonde angel who was still firmly in the grasp of sleep. Woojin shifted his arms slightly, blocking the rays of sunshine from hitting his very own sunshine’s eyes, but the motion caused the beekeeper to stir.

It took a while before Chan woke up from then, though. And a while longer, even, before he processed where he was, and with whom. When he did, his whole being seemed to light up, putting the rising sun to shame.

“Woojin?”

“Right here, angel.” 

Chan sighed, snuggling further into his embrace, just letting himself be held, and holding Woojin back. 

The blissful mood didn’t last long, though.

“Channie, I hate to do this, but… Can you move, please? I have to get up…”

Instead of letting go, Chan held on tighter for a moment, visibly fighting with himself before he scooted back and let go of Woojin.

Woojin clambered out of bed, reaching for the trousers he’d carelessly discarded to the floor the night before to put them back on.

“You’re… you’re not leaving again, are you?” Chan’s voice was small and sounded broken, so broken that Woojin’s heart nearly shattered, too. Quickly, he swooped back to the bed, sitting on its edge to be at eye-level with Chan as he cupped his face.

“No, angel, I’m not leaving. I’ll never leave again, as long as you’ll want to have me around.”

Chan exhaled slowly, relaxing only tentatively.

“I can’t even imagine any reason why I wouldn’t want to have you around…”

Woojin kissed his forehead lightly, then pulled back, tilting his head and rising an eyebrow at Chan, smile becoming teasing.

“Not even if I told you I broke into your hives…?”

Chan shot up in bed, rising to his knees as he pointed accusingly at Woojin.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ , bear! Leave my girls alone!”

Woojin laughed, dodging Chan’s finger before he poked one of his eyes out, very pleased with himself that he’d managed to lighten up the somber mood so quickly.

“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing. I’d much rather keep devouring the beekeeper.” He winked suggestively as he tugged the blanket that had fallen off Chan’s bare body back up and around him to protect him from the chilly spring-morning air. Chan huffed, holding the blanket closed in front of him, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

“You are insufferable. Go, shoo, do whatever you got up to do; but don’t take too long to come back; it’s cold!”

Woojin saluted, standing up straight, before starting to move towards the door.

“I’ll be so quick, you won’t even have time to miss me.”

Chan huffed.

“I already miss you, and you haven’t even left…”

Woojin laughed, dashing out the door to attend to his morning business. He was quick, lightning quick, but Chan still pouted when he came back into the room.

“You took too long.” He complained, reaching out towards him with both arms. Woojin laughed, rapidly shedding his trousers again before diving back under the blanket with Chan, letting him hold him and holding him in turn.

“I’m so sorry, my angel. Whatever can I do to make it up to you?”

Chan hummed, mock-pensively, as his smile turned devious.

“Oh, honey… If you ask me like that, I have a few ideas, but it’s going to take a loooong while until you’ve made up for all the lost time we could have had together…!”


End file.
